This Video Explains The Best Method For Eating Fresh Oysters

You may know how to shuck an oyster, but do you know the best way to eat them fresh? This video shares some tips regarding sauces, garnishes, and getting them from their shell to your mouth.

In this video from the Zagat YouTube channel, chef Michael Cressotti gives the skinny on eating a plate of fresh oysters on a half-shell. Here are some of the big tips:

• Eat the first oyster plain by slurping it right out of the shell (it’s nature’s spoon). This way you get a good taste of the liqueur (the salty liquid that surrounds the meat of the oyster), and you prep your palate for the rest of the plate.
• Avoid drowning your oysters in hot sauce or cocktail sauce so you can actually taste the oyster meat and liqueur. A small dollop from your cocktail fork will do.
• Add lemon juice to your oysters one at a time, right before you eat it, instead of squeezing lemon over all of them at once. Otherwise, if you don’t eat them fast, the acid can alter the taste and consistency of the oysters.

When it really comes down to it, you should eat oysters however you like. They’re your oysters and you paid for them. That being said, if you’re ditching the liqueur and drowning your oysters in so many toppings you can’t taste them at all, you may just not like fresh oysters. If that’s the case, there are cheaper ways to get your cocktail or hot sauce fix.

The Right Way to Eat Oysters [YouTube]